In The Setting Sun
by littlebluewhalen
Summary: Laya's having doubts about her dreams to be the Champion, and Hop is always willing to listen.


The brunette looked over to her friend, analyzing him in the setting sun.

Would he be mad at her? Would he support her? Would he understand?

The only conclusive thought she had was that he looked really good with the wash of warm hues of the sunset bouncing off of his purple hair and bright eyes.

Laya shook her head to clear her thoughts and let a sigh escape, not expecting her companion to even notice, as entranced as he was by their Pokemon playing together by their campsite. That's why, when his voice broke the silence like a whip, she found herself startled into standing up straight.

"All right, mate?" His voice met her ears, and she turned to him, his eyes locking onto hers, dancing with amusement. Laya felt a small smile slip onto her face despite everything. She glanced away for a moment, back towards the setting sun, attempting to photosynthesize some strength from it.

"…Yeah." Was all that came out. She didn't look back towards her friend.

"…Really." Hop's voice was flat, disbelieving. She looked back towards him, the amusement gone from his face.

"…No." Laya sighed out at last, her right hand threading through her shoulder-length brown hair.

As if she could sense her owner's frustration, Laya's Arcanine bounded over, forcefully pushing her head into Laya's left hand. This brought a smile to the teen's face and afforded her some strength to bring up the issue at hand.

"…Hop, I don't know if I want to go through with this."

Silence pervaded their homely campsite they'd set up in Giant's Seat. She bit her lip and refused to look into his green eyes.

"…Go through with what?" He asked slowly, as if he already knew her answer.

"The semi-finals, the finals… battling Leon."

"What? Why?" Hop's voice was low, confused and strained. Laya groaned.

"Hop, look. We've been through so much on this gym challenge. I didn't even have a Pokémon before this. Sure, mom was a trainer when she was younger and she went on her own adventure, and we've had Pokémon growing up, but I'd never really battled or been super interested in them my whole life. And then you come bounding along, with your Champion brother and his champion Pokémon, and you change my life," Laya hesitated, trying to choose her next words in a way that made sense, "I didn't know what I wanted to do in life before you. Before Leon gave me Grookey. And going on this journey, catching Pokémon, raising them and training them, travelling… all the things we've seen along the way, I mean… that's what I want to do."

There was a lapse of silence as Hop soaked in her words. He had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire night, she noticed off-handedly.

"So… why can't you fight Lee?"

"Because, don't take this the wrong way, but I think I could win. I have enough faith in my Pokémon, and I… really don't want to be Champion. That's your dream, but going on this journey, I realized… it isn't mine."

And the truth was out. Laya picked at the grass nervously, steadfastly avoiding Hop's scrutinizing gaze, wondering when they'd sat down.

"I think you should still try," at these words, she looked at her friend, only to have him hold up a hand, "hear me out. I don't think you should withdraw, because… well, I can't imagine anyone across from me on that field except you. You've been my best mate and rival from the start, it has to be you. And if you, by some miracle, beat me, then… you'll face Lee, and if you win, well… reject the title or something. But I don't think it's fair to me, your fans or your Pokémon to stop this far into it." Hop concluded, levelling Laya with a scorching look. Laya sighed and buried her eyes into her hands, knowing he had a point. This big battle is what she'd been prepping her Pokémon for, anyway…

Suddenly, an arm was hooked around her shoulders and she was brought into an embrace. Laya looked up, and yes – Hop had pulled her into a one-sided hug as they sat on the grass in front of their tents. Her legs were bent up into her chest – it was a bit chilly out – and he just nonchalantly pulled her close, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"I know you're not responding because you know I'm right."

And there it was. The teasing lilt was back in his voice, and as she processed this, she rolled her eyes and pushed him away, almost refusing to smile.

"You better not throw the match though. I'll know." Hop's voice was again serious, staring at her, seemingly through her soul.

The girl scoffed.

"As if I would ever do that to my Pokémon." She replied, rolling her eyes at the very notion. Her best friend grinned his lopsided grin once more.

The sun had gone down, and the two had barely moved, talking about battle strategies, people they'd met on their journey, down to the different curry they'd made and food they'd eaten. Laya pulled out her phone to check the time when she'd realized it was already 9pm.

"Hop, we should get ready to sleep, it's getting late." She nudged his arm with her shoulder. He was sitting down, his side pressed right up against her, and she somehow knew she was going to miss his comforting warmth whenever he got up and went into his own tent. Their Pokémon had even settled down, preferring to lay down around their two trainers.

Arcanine lounged lazily by Laya's feet, and her other Pokémon had made a pile around her as well; Toxtricity was sitting down and lazily playing catch with Rillaboom, who was next to a sleeping Raichu. Braviary was preening its feathers in preparation for sleep, and Mudsale was laying down next to Arcanine. Gyrados had wrapped its body around the pile of Pokémon and their two trainers, warily keeping an eye out for any wild Pokémon.

"Hey, so… you said you didn't want to be Champion. What are you thinking of doing instead?" Hop asked suddenly, looking away from Laya. The girl blinked her brown eyes once in consideration before looking over her Pokémon again.

"Honestly," she started slowly, "I would want to travel more. Building this connection with my Pokemon was my favorite part of this experience, and I want more," she paused to pat Gyrados tenderly on the head, which rumbled in affection, "I want to see more, meet more Pokémon, meet more people… I want to go to different regions, I think. I've heard that they're all so different. I want to know what they're like." Laya finished, looking her friend in the eyes. He stared back, his eyes searching for something.

"I've been considering if I'm ready to be Champion. I mean, you clearly took your time with the Gym Challenge, but when I look back, it all seems so… rushed." Hop didn't explain any further.

"Well, you spent most of it trying to catch up to your brother." Laya tacked on. Hop winced and rubbed the back of his head lightly, as if she'd physically hit him.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just wondering if I've ever actually wanted to be Champion, or if I just wanted to be Champion because Lee was. I mean, I've never known a time that didn't involve Pokémon battling… Lee's 20 now, and he became Champion at 10. I mean, I'm 15, it's not like I can really beat his accomplishments anyway…" Hop trailed off, looking away. He sighed.

"I think I'm just wondering, now, if I want to become Champion so early. I mean, of course, there's no guarantee that either of us will win, but…"

"Hop, I think you'll know in the moment. If you lose and feel relief, you'll know it wasn't meant to be; if you win and feel disappointment, well… like you said, just 'reject the title'." Laya responded, knocking her arms lightly against his once more. He face alit in a smile.

"Ya know, I'm glad you're my rival." Hop said, smiling at her.

Laya laughed, the sound echoing through the empty night sky, off to worlds away.


End file.
